Sony to earn Rs 300 cr from IPL

Cricket: The broadcaster recently bagged the rights for Indian Premier League, the BCCI-promoted Twenty20 tournament.

Sony Entertainment Television, which recently bagged the telecast rights of the Indian Premier League, hopes to earn over Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion) as advertising revenue in the first season of the Board of Control for Cricket in India-promoted Twenty20 tournament.

Last month, the television broadcaster, along with sports marketing and management agency World Sports Group, won the broadcast rights for IPL for $1.03 billion (around Rs 4,120 crore) which includes $108 million (nearly Rs 432 crore) for compulsory promotional spends for 10 years.

While WSG will explore the rights internationally, Sony will cater to the Indian subcontinent.

Sony plans to rope in two presenting and six associate sponsors. While the two presenting sponsors will get around 250 seconds each per match, the associate sponsors will get visibility in the range of 200 to 150 seconds. This apart, the presenting sponsors and associate sponsors will get mileage through interactivity initiatives.

Rohit Gupta, president (network sales, licensing & telephony), Sony Entertainment Television India, said: "We will accommodate a maximum of 12 brands through presenting and associate sponsors and spot buyers given the fact that it is a three-hour match with 2,000 seconds to sell. Our estimate is that between presenting and associate sponsors, almost 1,500 to 1,600 seconds will be sold out and the remaining  will be sold as spot buys."

According to industry experts, the 10-second slots will sell for Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh, whereas bulk buyers (such as the presenting and associate sponsors) will shell out Rs 2.25 lakh to Rs 2.4 lakh for a 10-second slot.

The advantage advertisers have in the Twenty20 format is exclusivity.

Future Group, Nokia, Pepsi, Coke, Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group and Reliance Industries Ltd, among others, are said to be in talks with Sony for presenting sponsorship, said sources. Airtel, Maruti Udyog, LG Electronics and Hyundai are eyeing the associate sponsorship.

Gupta refused to divulge the names of advertisers which have approached Sony, but added that the channel would seal deals by the end of this month.